The Second Nature of Geography: Hartshorne as Humanist∗

∗I thank Karl Butzer for his insights, and also the anonymous reviewers. I would also like to thank James R. Shortridge for encouraging me to pursue this theme.

Richard Hartshorne's The Nature of Geography, its sequel, and his works on political geography are examined in light of contemporary humanistic and cultural trends in geography. Hartshorne frequently discussed the value of subjectivity to the geographer, and often touched on the themes of cultural regions and experiential perception. Hartshorne further developed these trends along political lines. His humanistic forecasts have heretofore gone unrecognized. It is argued that, far from the “descriptive” aspersion with which he is often viewed, Hartshorne was a methodological generalist.

Key Words:

• Richard Hartshorne
• subjectivity
• cultural region
• political geography

Notes

∗I thank Karl Butzer for his insights, and also the anonymous reviewers. I would also like to thank James R. Shortridge for encouraging me to pursue this theme.